December 18, 2012

Faith, Hope, Love and a Lot More Goodness

When I was a little girl, one of my favorite songs was the Coke song, "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing." A home filled with harmony and love was something I longed for then. Since, I have sought, with every fiber of my being, to create such a home with my husband and our children. We are blessed doing so, and it is our deep, abiding faith, uncrushable hope, and authentic love that are the bedrock of our heart and our home.

My heart has been broken over the events of this past week, as has the heart of our nation. Words are mere whispers in this time of grief. But,

they must be spoken,

they must be written,

they must be shared,

they must be heard.

I believe we must, individually, and collectively begin to think and put words, as well as action to our spiritual and psychological development and growth as a people. We need to talk about the hope that faith inspires, the love that accepts, embraces, comforts and nurtures our human spirit, and we must engage in conversation about the uncomfortable truths about mental illness, civil rights, and an objective interpretation of our Constitution.

At the begining and end of each day, I believe we each want (and yes, actually need) a sense of belonging, we want to love and be loved simply because we exist, we want connection. It is often through the beliefs we hold to be true that we identify with others and find that connection. Sometimes, we over identify with our own beliefs, and this filters our ability to look, to see, and to understand one another, especially when we are passionate about our closely held beliefs. Often what we do not understand, we fear, and what we fear we seek to destroy. We become seperated from one another, this frightens us, and this separation is so contrary to our spiritual and psychological well being.

We need each other.

One grieving father spoke with such moving candor of the power of our free agency, and the fact that we each have a choice, every moment of every day, how to express this free agency. I believe we are here to learn, and my most personal belief (faith) is that we are to learn to be more Christ-like in our actions. Each time our heart is broken open we have an opportunity to let out the light and LOVE of God, to shine it upon others, as well, and to let His everlasting light and LOVE fill us back up with a hope for a better future, a better people.

Let us not be afraid to engage in conversation about the uncomfortable things of this matter, like mental illness, gun regulations, and our need for spiritual and psychological development and well being.

As a woman who has lived her entire life with depression as a constant visitor, I am in my heart an eternal optimist. I credit this optimism to my faith, which gives me hope each and every day, no matter what, even in these trying times.

As we enter a season that celebrates the greates gift ever given, my wish for you, your family, and our nation, is

Faith, no matter how you choose to express it

Hope, for a more civil, spirit filled future, and

above all, LOVE - may we each know and experience the LOVE we so naturally long for, may we reach out and show LOVE with grace to those we encounter every day.